Tony Hawk’s “Stand Up For Skateparks” NYC Benefit Slideshow

August 19, 2008

Tony Hawk brought together some powerhouse celebrities, athletes, and the locals who keep skateboarding alive to help raise $50,000 for the Manhattan Bridge Skatepark in NYC. No doubt, the Tony Hawk Foundation is one of the best things going in skateboarding right now. Keep lurking for the full recap and epic slideshow…

Tony Hawk Foundation Brings Signature Benefit Event To The Hamptons
Inaugural East Coast benefit raises $50,000 for New York City skatepark.

8/11/08 (Bridgehampton, NY) – The Tony Hawk Foundation brought its signature Stand Up For Skateparks fundraiser to The Hamptons, raising $575,000 to help develop public skateparks across America, including $50,000 for the Manhattan Bridge Skatepark in New York City.

Held at the Ross Lower School campus in Bridgehampton, New York, the event marks the first time Stand Up For Skateparks has been held outside of the Los Angeles area. Attended by the likes of Jon Bon Jovi, Russell Simmons, Vern Troyer, Michael Gelman, Nacho Figueras, UFC fighters Wanderlei Silva and Matt Serra, and others, this exclusive, family-centric, action-sports carnival featured a Vert Demo with Tony Hawk and his Boom Boom HuckJam cast of top skateboarders and BMX pros: Neal Hendrix, Sergie Ventura, Jesse Fritsch, Elliot Sloan, Kevin Robinson, and Dennis McCoy. Jason Ellis pulled double duty on both on the mic and his board while video turntablist Mike Relm plugged into the Jumbotron to provide the show's sounds and images. The festival area included games, food, auctions, and music, plus the Jeep Skate Clinic course that was open to event guests.

The Stand Up For Skateparks Benefit Committee includes Tony Hawk, Lance Armstrong, Andre Agassi, Russell Simmons, Rob Dyrdek, Christopher "Big Black" Boykin, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mia Hamm, Dana White, Jr., Jon Favreau, Mat Hoffman, Shaun White, Bobby Kotick, Bob McKnight, Ron Burkle, and Scott Greenstein, each of whom has assisted the Foundation in its fundraising efforts. During the Pledge Drive for the Manhattan Bridge Skatepark, Scott Greenstein's personal appeal for guests to reach out to New York youth and help them build their dream skatepark was met with enthusiasm and contributed to the success of that effort. To make a contribution to the Manhattan Bridge Skatepark, visit www.mbskatepark.org.

Activision Presents Stand Up For Skateparks was made possible through the support of event guests and sponsors, including Activision, Jeep, NetJets, T-Mobile Sidekick, UFC, Maverick Business Adventures, and Guitar Hero.

Through grants and technical assistance, the Tony Hawk Foundation helps communities across the U.S. build free, quality, public skateparks in low-income areas to give at-risk youth access to safe, sanctioned places to skate. With over 13-million skateboarders in the U.S. and only about 2,500 skateparks nationwide, most skateboarders are forced to skate in the streets, in parking lots, and other locations where they're often not welcome. Public skateparks provide not only a safe place for them to pursue their passion for this healthy, athletic, and creative activity, but also helps them build a sense of community.

The next deadline to submit Tony Hawk Foundation Grant Applications is October 1, 2008. Applications will be available online from August 15, 2008 at www.tonyhawkfoundation.org.

Donations to the Manhattan Bridge Skatepark in New York City can be made at www.mbskatepark.org, where visitors can see a video about the project.

The Tony Hawk Foundation will host its next Stand Up For Skateparks benefit in Beverly Hills, California on November 9, 2008. For more information, visit www.standupforskateparks.org, or contact C.C. Flashman at cc@tonyhawkfoundation.org or 760-477-2479.

A charitable, non-profit organization, the Tony Hawk Foundation was established in 2002 by its namesake, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, to promote and provide funds for high-quality public skateparks throughout the United States—with an emphasis on the word “quality.” Since then, the Foundation has awarded $2,348,500 to 390 communities. The Foundation focuses on working with local officials and grassroots, community-based organizations that plan to hire designers and contractors with strong experience designing and building skateparks.

The Tony Hawk Foundation was established by a gift from Tony Hawk. Its directors raise additional funds through events, industry donations, and continuing contributions from Tony and other entities. In addition to skateparks, the Foundation also makes donations to other children-related charities, as chosen by its Board Of Directors. For more information or to make a donation, visit the Foundation’s Web site at www.tonyhawkfoundation.org.